You'll be hard pressed to get into ANY fights with me, and should you succeed anyway, you'd wish you wouldn't
But yes, you misinterpreted what I have been writing here (and elsewhere).
But first of all, lets establish that the product has been taken off the sales list already as far as I can see. The old links are still there, in articles and forums, but I don't think you can still order the coasters.
So ChrisB's and my remarks have 'helped'.
As to the other points you raise:
no secrets anywahere, but since you appear to be relatively 'new', let me elaborate: I am not on the 'employee payroll' of simMarket, instead having my own publishing and marketing company. But I am a freelancer and have a contract with them for designing and publishing their newsletters and magazine ads, for running simFlight.com's news service and for running the simFlight forums.
No less, but no more either.
I am NOT calling the shots as to what gets and doesn't get posted on simMarket, nor what gets sold or not, or how products are being screened, or not.
Nowhere have I said that simMarket would sell products that are in any way subject to copyright infringements. If they would knowingly, I wouldn't work for them. Actually, every month there are products being drawn from the shop after copyright holders object and products are also refused regularly for that same reason.
What I AM saying is that it is totally impossible for ANYONE to find these infringements up front, unless they are totally and blatantly obvious.
The coasters pictures were put up by the 'author' of the product and checked by a simMarket employee, not readily recognized as being subject to problems. Yes, I had my doubts, but the product was already in the shop.
Again, decisions to put it there and possibly leave it there are for and by the owner of simMarket ONLY.
But he will NOT condone stolen or copied material to be sold through the shop.... assuming, once again, it is found to be such. That's not always clear.
BA may or may not protest to have a picture of their livery on a model aircraft, in a screenshot, in a VA or on a coaster (there are shades of grey I'm afraid).
What I AM saying is that simMarket is not interested in the contents of products. If a developer thinks he can sell an add-on or other product, simMarket will market it for him. There is no quality control.... that's 'up to us' via forums such as these, really, and the odd review.
Whereas 'competitors' like JustFlight, Flight1 and Aerosoft are a 'mix' of retailer and publisher, simMarket is ONLY a retailer. They are NOT involved in the design and manufacturing of any of the products they sell.
Now you and I may not agree with everything that gets sold or put on the market, but we're not being asked, are we? ;-)
In fact, the abysmal quality of some of the FS add-on products over the years was the reason that I decided to set up my own publishing company years ago.
